


Everybody wants to know

by bobleak



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-28
Updated: 2018-06-08
Packaged: 2019-05-15 03:19:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14782667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bobleak/pseuds/bobleak
Summary: It doesn’t matter.People are gossiping about them but it doesn’t matter.Everybody thinks they were wasted, he heard Jen say it could have been a friendly thing. It’s not how he’d put it but he appreciates her trying to help.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the product of a revision induced breakdown.

It doesn’t matter. People are gossiping about them but it doesn’t matter. Everybody thinks they were wasted, he heard Jen say it could have been a friendly thing. It’s not how he’d put it but he appreciates her trying to help.

Sara knows. She knew when she saw Shane on the sofa when she got home, she knew, it wasn’t like it was a secret he text her three beers in. Polyamory is a wonderful thing although looking at her boyfriend looking crumpled and dejected in the cold light of morning you could be fooled. He looks so broken. She doesn’t ask, doesn’t think she needs to just drops her bag on the floor crawls into his lap and wraps her arms around him  
“You guys will be ok.” He doesn’t reply just curls a hand into her shirt and rests his head on her shoulder.

 

Not for the first time Ryan feels empty and exposed, Shane didn’t even come into work today and as he lays in his bed exhausted and alone he wants to scream, wants to hit something just get rid of the frustrated energy consuming him but it’s 2 am and he’d rather not piss off the neighbours, they’re the only people not gossiping about him right about now and he’d quite like to keep it that way.

He’s not sure if he’s relieved or crushed when he gets to the office the next day and Shane is sat at his desk like nothing’s happened. He has his headphones on and hasn’t even registered that Ryan’s stood a foot away from him. He tosses his folder on his desk and takes a seat. This should be fun.

He doesn’t expect Sara to grab him whilst he’s trying to get a, frankly, well-deserved coffee  
“A word, Ryan.” He’s never heard her sound so hostile and a million possibilities run through his head. Shane swore she was ok with it and, sure he’d been drinking but not enough to forget to ask his girlfriend unless he just pretended to check with her? Oh God did he think that was how it worked with him and Helen? Because it isn’t, my God he loves her that’s not how polyamory works. Almost without his knowledge, he’s walked to an empty recording booth with Sara. He absently wonders if people would understand if she killed him? Before he can go any further down that route she interrupts his thoughts.

“Why haven’t you messaged him?”

“What? What are we, 14? He hasn’t messaged me either, he’s the one who’s avoiding me!”

“Yeah, because you’re making so much effort to talk to him.”

“Wait so you… he… the whole…”

“Of course! You two fucked yadda yadda it’s fine, why would a give a shit?”

“We didn’t…”

Yeah, whatever Bergara, I don’t care. What I care about is you sorting out whatever the fuck happened here.”

“Why does it have to be me?”

“Ryan, he skipped work because he thought if he saw you he might fucking cry now is not the time for pride!” Ryan can’t process the information. It’s like he has some kind of mental blockade. He knows Shane wanted him to leave. He didn’t have to say so, Ryan knew and that’s fine. Ryan fails to see what Shane could possibly be upset about.

“Pride? I’m sorry who had to fucking walk of shame it before work? Who is everybody talking shit about because let me fucking tell you, Sara, if this was just about pride it wouldn’t…”  
He bites down on his fist hard. He shouldn’t be shouting at Sara in here. For one thing, if somebody walks past these fucking rumours won’t go away. The curious looks would be fine if he knew there was no goddamn basis for them but each one is like a punch to the gut. Shane isn’t into him. They had a drunken fumble that is all and he’d really like to just lick his wounds in peace.

  
Sara sighs

“You’re both idiots but I have more hope of talking sense into you so Ryan, please, I’m begging you just talk to him.” Ryan sinks to the floor head in his hands. This is too much. He hates that half of the memories have faded already he’s clinging to the tendrils of the words he said he sounded like he meant it he really did and maybe that’s why it hurt so much more than any other one night stand, or maybe it’s because it’s somebody he knows, somebody he cares about and has to see every day and considering how much he thought about this he actually didn’t think it through at all.

“Ry” her voice is softer now “I will slam your stupid fucking heads together if one of you doesn’t sort this out today.” Against his better judgement Ryan laughs, she clearly takes that as some kind of answer  
“Thanks, Ry.” she smiles before leaving him sitting on the floor of the studio.

He knows he can’t spend all day on the floor, as much as he’d like to so he steels himself for the conversation that’s going to follow, prepares himself for a second rejection all because he feels like he can’t let Sara down over something he didn’t actually agree to.


	2. Keep it to yourself but only if there are two of you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I still can't stop myself writing so much dialogue I guess this has 3 chapters now

“Hey man.”Ryan tries as he returns to his desk. Shane scrambles for his headphones looking confused.

“You’re talking to me?”

“Pretty sure I didn’t stop and you’ve just been avoiding me, but, look, can we go talk about this anywhere that isn’t right here.” He can already see people taking what they think are sneaky glances. They couldn’t be more obvious if they tried. Jesus this is annoying. He normally loves his co-workers but none of them know how to stay out of his business.

“S-sure” Shane stands up and starts walking with him but there’s something off. He’s moving stiffly like it’s against his better judgement and Ryan hopes he isn’t making it so obvious that he’s nervous. When they eventually make it outside the air is thick with tension and neither of them really know how to break it, so Ryan just says the only thing he can think of,

“Why weren’t you here yesterday?” the pause that follows feels like it goes on forever. Ryan starts to think that maybe it will.

“You didn’t even say goodbye.”

“You were asleep! I was under the impression you were going to get up for work yesterday morning, clearly I was wrong on that front and you know it’s not like you wanted me there…” his thoughts are spiralling out of him, incoherent and jumbled but he needs to explain. He needs Shane to understand because right now he looks straight up hurt and that just isn’t fair. Does he really not get that Ryan’s hurting so much over this that just talking to him is making him feel like he can’t breathe? That all he wants to do is just go back to just before it got weird, to when it was just fun and refreshing and, it sounds so minute but nice.

“… and you know, I get it drunken mistakes happen but you could at least have the decency to tell me where the fucking door is instead of…” he swallows thickly his eyes feel warm but he sure as hell isn’t about to cry at work.

“What the fuck Ryan? Why would I want you to leave? People pass out when they fuck sometimes, how has that literally never happened to you before?” Ryan very suddenly feels like a total fucking idiot. Because of course that’s happened to him before but he doesn’t know one-night stand etiquette, he’s always been shit at reading signals and Shane hadn’t said anything how had he blown this so far out of proportion?

“Dude... I’m a fucking idiot I’m sorry but… if you regretted it I figured you’d just want to forget and like me being there wasn’t about to help with any of that.” Ryan knows he’s gesturing wildly but he can’t get his brain to stop for even a single second to compose himself. Shane laughs it’s watery and full of hurt that Ryan is struggling to deal with because that’s his fault.

“Sara was right, I should’ve just talked to you.” Ryan rolls his eyes pulling Shane into an uncomfortable embrace dropping a soft kiss onto his neck

“Movie night tonight? Sort our shit out.”

“Yeah that, that sounds good Ry.” Shane’s lack of confidence is like a blow to the chest because Shane is never shaken by anything and Ryan just knows they need to fix this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't own them never happened etc


	3. Polyamory takes practice

Shane gets to Ryan’s at bang on 8, by which point Ryan has called Helen three separate times panicking that Shane isn’t going to turn up, that he secretly hates Ryan and he’s glad he left the other night. He’s grateful that she always answers despite the time difference but it doesn’t stop his heart feeling like it’s about to leap out of his throat at the knock on the door.

“Hey, I brought my poltergeist DVD.” and the anxiety drains out of Ryan as he genuinely laughs for the first time in what feels like forever.

“Ok, first of all who on Earth still uses DVDs? Second of all we have seen that movie at least a hundred times.”

“It’s a classic, It’s a good spooky time.” 

"Mhmm. There’s also this new thing called the internet. You don’t need DVDs anymore, old man.” Shane just barely bites back a comment about how that means Ryan sucked an old mans dick, and sits himself down.

“I’m open to other suggestions.” he says like Ryan isn’t already putting poltergeist on.

They both know this was supposed to be a way for them to talk but there’s a movie on it’s rude to talk during a movie and it’s only as the credits roll that they finally turn to face each other

“Well…was it a good spooky time for you?” Shane asks, grin tugging at his lips and honestly, talking is overrated anyway is all Ryan can think when he pulls him down into a kiss. It’s messy and uncoordinated, although that seems to be their style at this point and at least they’re fucking sober this time. When Shane pulls away Ryan braces himself. He expects straight up rejection presented in a kind light but it doesn’t come.

“I.. if we are going to … Sara.” Of course, of course, because Shane’s girlfriend didn’t just give him a ‘You’ll be on your knees before the nights out’ on his last frantic panicked phone call to her.

“Yeah, fuck sorry I didn’t think...”

“Give me literally two minutes.” He drops a soft kiss onto Ryan's forehead and Ryan tries really hard to not let his eyes flutter close. He is not going to be that cliché.

Shane doesn’t even take the full two minutes to call Sara and he practically fucking struts back into the room before climbing into Ryan’s lap his long limbs sliding onto the sofa.

“She better have said yes dude.” Ryan tries to joke like he’s got any blood left in his brain and Shane just laughs before leaning in to kiss Ryan, the lack of coordination seems to have passed and when Shane wraps his arms around Ryan’s neck opening his mouth and finally letting their tongues meet Ryan can’t tell if he’s just incredibly turned on or actually about to pass out.

When they eventually separate Shane  just smiles that dumb crooked smile and says

“Told you I didn’t want you to leave.” and maybe that’s all the conversation they need to have tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't own them never happened etc


End file.
